


Ir Abelas

by dontknowcats



Series: Ma Vhenan'era [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 11:45:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3528221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontknowcats/pseuds/dontknowcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisition remarks upon the Inquisitor's strange behavior and a kind moment between the Inquisitor and Cassandra.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ir Abelas

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Please read the first part! 2. I wrote this relatively quickly compared to the second part, so if there's a typo, please forgive me.

“Is that… the Inquisitor?”

“Yeah. She’s been spending her days when she’s at Skyhold up there. No one knows why, but she’s been waiting up there since Commander Rutherford disappeared.”

“You think she’s gone mad?”

“Probably. Mad with grief. Last person she spoke to when she wasn’t sent on a mission was Lady Pentaghast, but she won’t disclose what happened.”

“That’s a shame. How long do you think the two remaining ambassadors will put up with it?”

“Can’t be long now.”

The group of field agents continued their journey out of Skyhold, only one turning to face the gates once they left. They thought they could see the Inquisitor wave, so they hesitantly waved back before returning their attention to their mission.

 

* * *

 

“Cassandra, I need to know. No matter what she said, I need to know as soon as physically possible. Honestly, I actually need to know five weeks ago,” Josephine said with an exasperated sigh, going as far as to rest her forehead against her desk to show her frustration.

The Ambassador had requested a private meeting with Cassandra earlier that day in hopes of finding out what was going on with Inquisitor Lavellan. She knew that the two women had spoken before the Inquisitor had taken her current position atop the barracks and she needed to figure out what exactly was going on with her friend and leader before making any moves for the good of the Inquisition as a whole.

“I am sorry, Josephine, but I made a promise to her and, by extension, to Commander Rutherford that I would not tell anyone else. But, if you do try to remove her from the Inquisition, I will stand beside her if she is to fight or if she leaves. I hope you do not take it that far.” The Seeker’s reply, as usual, was formulated and structured so that she sounded almost terrifying even if her conversation partner knew her well enough to look past the threats.

Josephine lifted her head with a huff, pushing a loose piece of hair behind her ear as she thought of what to say next. If she were to remove Inquisitor Lavellan from her position, Cassandra would leave as well. If both were lost, the political standing of the Inquisition would plummet. The Inquisitor was a favorite of the Orlesian Court with her presentation at the Winter Palace and continued interest in The Game while Cassandra was the current Divine. It would be a devastating loss to not just Josephine, but to the entirety of Skyhold.

“If I were to leave this up to Leliana, she would most likely immediately ask for the Inquisitor’s removal due to how she is affecting our alliances. She barely pays attention to the main mission, instead leading the party on a wild goose chase for trinkets that don’t seem to exist. Something has snapped, Cassandra. She may be a danger to herself, meaning she’s a danger to the Inquisition.” It hurt Josephine to say such a thing about one of her dearest friends, and she felt like she was about to lose it if she saw the elf pass by her window once more. “What if… what if something unfortunate happens one day?”

The Seeker was quiet, her eyes wandering the room as she took in the information her Antivan friend presented. “I understand your concern… However, she is fine. I promise you. She is just… still in love.”

“Still in love? Cullen is gone. We have all mourned him as we needed to, but I believe that she is past mourning and much further gone. She cannot be in love with a dead man without being mad.”

“I’ve told you what I can. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to take her her dinner.” Cassandra turned on her heel, walking down the length of Josephine’s office towards the main hall. When she did not hear her name called out behind her, she felt comfortable with leaving.

Josephine, however, didn’t feel comfortable with anything anymore. The woman she had once thought intimately of was slowly losing her mind to the thought of her dead lover. How was she supposed to feel? Denial, like Cassandra? Disgust, like some of the nobles that resided in Skyhold?

She couldn’t feel either. She just felt sadness.

 

* * *

 

Cassandra’s steps were quick as she carried the basket up the stairs to the battlements, her mind racing a mile a minute. She had to tell the Inquisitor about her talk with Josephine and she had to do it soon.

With her mind occupied, she hadn’t noticed her take the shortcut to her friend’s location, the one that involved walking through the Commander’s abandoned office. Her breathing slowed as she pushed the door open. The desk and chairs were covered with white linens, protecting his belongings from the dust until the Inquisitor decided what to do with them. The books had been pulled from the shelves lining the rooms and placed into crates to be taken to her quarters. The ladder leading up to his private quarters was coated in dust, so thick that she would have had a grey fingertip if she were to drag it along a single rung.

Closing the door behind her, she took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air to try and clear up the musty smell lingering in her nose. Even if it had only been a month and a half since his disappearance, the room had been shut for long enough.

“Inquisitor Lavellan, here is your dinner,” she said as she approached the redheaded elf. Her hair was growing longer than her usual shoulder-length cut and it was constantly windblown. But it didn’t matter to the two of them, as long as she was eating and drinking and exercising. Of course the exercising part was Cassandra’s idea; why leave her out in the elements only to lose her muscle memory and mass?

“Thank you. I hope it’s as good as the Nug from last night,” the Inquisitor replied with a grin. She held out her hand, waiting for the basket to be handed to her. Seeker Pentaghast knew she wouldn’t stop scanning the outer areas even to eat. She depended on others to help her so she could be alert, save for when she passed out from not sleeping for days on end.

The basket passed from hand to outstretched hand and the wrappings were easily undone without the elf looking down.

“Seen anything interesting today?”

“Not yet. One of the scouts waved back today, though. I’m sure they thought I was crazy, but other than you it’s the closest to human interaction I get.”

“Are you saying this isn’t ‘human interaction?’ I’ll have you know that I am very human.”

“Well of course. No one but a human would be caught reading _Swords and Shields_ ,” she teased before biting into the druffalo meat that had been brought to her.

A sigh could be heard from behind her, and the Inquisitor shook her head with a smile. “Thank you, Cassandra.”

“You know I will gladly aide you when I can.”

“No… Thank you. For being the one person I can confide in right now, for believing me when I told you… Just, thank you. You can go now.”

There was a moment of silence, one heavy with the words the Inquisitor had spoken, before the elf could hear the Seeker walking away. She shut her eyes briefly, savoring the taste of the meat and the smell of the bread that accompanied it. As usual Cassandra brought two bottles: one of wine and one of water. Typically she downed the water first, sparingly, before sipping at the wine. Both were usually gone by the time she was brought breakfast.

Tonight, however, she felt the need to drown her sorrows in the wine. But before she could pop the bottle she heard footsteps rushing toward her. “Yes, Cassandra?”

“Josephine and Leliana… They’re going to remove you soon if this continues.”

“Inquisitor, I know that you need to be here, I know that you feel devoted to your position as well. I will stand with you, I promise you that, but I don’t want it to come to that!”

“I don’t either,” she sighed, peering out into the blackness beyond the walls. “Tell them… Tell them that by next spring I should know my answer.”

“But that is only a few months away; the letter said—“

“I know! I know what the letter said. But I need to be available to the Inquisition, and matters of the heart cannot overshadow that. He would understand.”

“Will.”

“What?”

“He _will_ understand, Inquisitor. I believe it.”

 

* * *

 

 The final night for her to stand watch. The weather was growing warmer and scouts had spoken of flowers blooming right outside of the mountain ranges protecting Skyhold. She, Josephine, and Leliana agreed a week ago that tonight was her last night upon the barracks unless she absolutely needed to be up there.

She wanted to stay up all night, but she felt the need for sleep. It wasn’t the normal nagging at the back of her head silenced by practicing with the anchor, but something louder. Something that screamed at her like a mother would scold a child.

“Don’t let it be tonight… Please,” she spoke softly to whoever would listen above. Finishing off the meat, she set the basket aside and laid down with her back to the stone wall. It was cool against her skin, even through her shirt.

As she felt herself relax on the ground, she could hear the wind blowing through the mountains, past her ears. Every once in a while she could hear a lone wolf looking for its pack, howling to the half moon in an attempt to find its family. She could only hope it would find it before collapsing like animals were known to outside of Skyhold due to the bleak conditions.

“Maker be with you,” she mumbled before drifting off.


End file.
